This shall be the priests’ due from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep, that they shall give to the priest: the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the inner parts.
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 3. Due, (judicium.) Moses only mentions a part, having explained the rest. Exodus 29:27. Leviticus 7:32.—Breast, (ventriculum.) In the other places pectusculum occurs. Hebrew “the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the maw, or caul,” called in Latin omasum, being the last and fattest of the four ventricles, and highly esteemed by the ancients. The cheeks or chaps are specified no where else; so that some think Moses here supplies what he had left imperfect, assigning to the priests the cheeks and tongue. Jansenius supposes that this is only a part of the breast, which appears to have two cheeks when the shoulders are cut off. But Moses here probably speaks not of the peace-offerings, but of the beasts which were killed by the Israelites at home for their own uses, and so forth (Clerc) as Philo explains it, (de præm.) and Josephus (iv. 4.) only specifies the right shoulder and the breast, which were given to the priests on these occasions. Calmet.—Septuagint “the shoulder, the cheeks, and the last ventricle.” The victims were not, therefore, of a sacred nature; as they were only sacrificed, inasmuch as the blood was to be offered to the Lord. Bible. See Genesis 43:16.